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Study Description
Of all that we Christians do, perhaps nothing is more important than gathering for worship. Worship is what humans were made for.
Yet why should worship matter so much? And what is it that we do when we gather for worship? In this 11-week series, we’ll explore these questions by studying the essential elements of a Christian worship service. When we better understand the meaning of worship, we'll see how worship informs every aspect of our lives and relationships, most especially with God.
Details
- Length: 11 sessions
- Teachers: The Rev. Canon Dr. Jonathan Bailes
- Leader's Guide: Discussion questions are available for small group leaders.
Access Leader's Guide
Watch the Series
1. With All the Company of Heaven
Why devote eleven weeks to the study of worship? In this introductory session, we explore why worship is worth our time and attention. In fact, we cannot avoid worship, for we are made to worship, and God uses worship to forms us.
2. Gathering Together
Instead of gathering for church on Sundays, why not stay home? Listen to a great sermon, read an inspiring devotional, spend time in prayer by yourself. Millions of contemporary American Christians do just that, and in this session, we ask whether gathering for public worship is actually important, and if so, why?
3. Singing Praise
For thousands of years, praise songs have been central to Christian worship. But why so? Does God need our adoration? In this session, we discuss the reasons to sing praise and examine its effects upon us.
4. Hearing the Word
Nothing is more necessary or profitable for Christians than knowing, hearing, reading, and studying God’s word. And, likewise, nothing is more central to our worship gatherings. In this session, we discuss what is it about the Bible that makes it so essential for us and for our worship.
5. Confessing the Faith
Every Sunday, Anglicans confess their faith with the words of the Nicene Creed, and likewise, many Christians around the world continue this ancient practice in their weekly worship. Yet why? In this session, we discuss why creeds are so important to worship.
6. Making Petition
Prayer is not just something Christians do, but something all religious people do. To be religious is to pray, yet what makes Christian prayer unique and how do we pray well? In this session, we discuss the foundational aspects of prayer and its role in Christian worship.
7. Asking Forgiveness
Why do we always ask for forgiveness? Why are prayers of confession in every worship service? Some worry that regular reflection on sin is an unhealthy spiritual practice, but in this session, we explore why it is, in fact, vital to our relationship to God and one another.
8. Sharing Peace and Offering Gifts
Rarely do we reflect on these two acts of Anglican worship. Is passing the peace merely an overly spiritualized way of saying "hi" on a Sunday morning? Is giving a tithe merely old-fashioned fundraising? In this session, we examine the deep meaning behind these means of worship.
9. Receiving Christ
The Lord's Supper, though distinctive and central to Christian worship, is frequently a subject of Christian debate. Is it a memorial of Jesus' past death, or a present reception of the risen Christ, or an anticipation of something yet to come? In this session, we discuss why all three of these meanings are essential to understanding the bread and wine of Holy Communion.
10. Giving Thanks
All of life, and all of new life in Christ, is a gift. And Christian worship is a response to that grace. For this reason, gratitude lies at the heart of worship and pervades our prayers and praises. In this session, we explore the role of thanksgiving in worship, both in church and at home.
11. Going Forth
Worship does not end when the Sunday service concludes. As Archbishop William Temple once said, how you conduct your life during the week is the true test of genuine worship. In this session, we look at what Scripture says about worship in life and why God cares so much about how we go forth into the world.
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